The French Government is prepared to consider the admission of Jewish refugees into French Guiana, it was reported here today by the Freeland League for Jewish Territorial Colonization.
Dr. I.N. Steinberg, secretary-general of the League, who has just returned from a five-month tour of Europe, disclosed that the French Colonial Minister, Marius Moutet, wrote him a letter two weeks ago saying he would raise the question with his government of settling “a certain number” of displaced Jews in French Guiana.
The minister explained that any decision would have to be preceded by a consultation with the local population and “a study of all the problems connected with the establishment of organized communities dedicated to agricultural work.” After the investigation, he said, an offer could be made by the French Government.
Dr. Steinberg recalled that the question of Jewish colonization in British Guiana, first raised in 1939, was revived in the House of Commons two months ago when Colonial Secretary George Hall announced the government would consider the matter further if the project has the backing of “responsible Jewish authorities.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
